If she could lean on one person the way Tara leaned on Allen, it might not be so bad. She couldn’t lean on Ari that way, though, and Taig was her cousin. An invisible barrier blocked her from softening toward them. She’d run and hunted and wrestled and swum with them all her life. She couldn’t let them see her soft now.
She couldn’t consider Taman anything but a pathetic child, even though he must be older than she was. He stood taller and bulkier than she was, too. He was taller and bulkier than any Lycaon. He could crush Taig or Ari with his little finger. So why did she scorn him? She treated him as an inexperienced boy who’d never laid a finger on a girl, but how could she really know that was true? He might have as much experience with girls as she did with boys. The way he tried to kiss her in the cave, before she broke away from him and laughed in his face, told her he knew something about it.
She closed her eyes against the memory, but his intolerable presence dominated her mind. He loomed there, at her side, hour after hour, without moving. He wouldn’t leave her alone, and he could see right through her tough exterior to her scared little heart inside. She could rant and rave ‘til kingdom come that she wasn’t as worried or concerned or on edge as the rest of them, but he could see plain as day that she was—if not more so. He could see she needed someone to lean on, so why couldn’t she let herself go and lean on him?
She couldn’t let herself soften toward him. At all costs, she must maintain her distance from him or she was lost. To her relief, though, Piwaka came out of his house and murmured something to Roshin. Roshin nodded and pushed himself off the railing. “Come on. Let’s go.”
In a flash, Roshin flew off the balcony and disappeared into the trees. Taig got to his feet and stared after him. “How are we supposed to follow him like that?”
Piwaka turned away from the railing. “He’ll wait for you at the bottom.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Taig countered.
“He’ll answer to me if he doesn’t,” Piwaka replied. “Now you better get going. You’ve got a long journey over the Divide. I wish you luck.”
Taig pursed his lips. “I guess that’s it, then. We better go.”
He took the first step onto the bridge, back to the tree where they climbed down to the ground. Sure enough, they found Roshin waiting at the bottom glaring at them. Then he set off eastward without a word to any of them.
They followed single file, back up the long winding path to the top of the Western Divide. Aeifa's heart sank. All the long days of travel getting to Avitras territory—wasted. Would they ever get to Harbeiz? Maybe Donen would treat them the same way Piwaka did. Maybe he wouldn’t help them at all. He might turn them out to wander in the wilderness for the rest of their lives. What would they do then? Taman’s footsteps behind her brought her out of her depression. Donen wouldn’t turn Allen and Taman away. He would take them in, and probably Tara, too, along with Allen, at the very least.
They slept on the open ground that night. Roshin flew up into the trees and left them to fend for themselves. Ari got a fire going to keep them warm, but no one said a word about food or any other comfort. The sooner they got out of this endless territory, the better. They would relax and pitch a real camp when they knew they were safe.
At first light of dawn, the group rose cold and stiff from the ground. Only Tara and Allen slept well, nestled in each other’s arms. Taig smiled at them together, but Aeifa hated them even more. Taman slept near her, but she held herself aloof from him. Her body seethed in fury at everything around her.
Roshin appeared. He surveyed the group with his hard eyes and started walking again, up the ridge to the Divide. The Ursidreans waiting for them on the other side of those peaks couldn’t be worse than the Outliers and the Avitras. Roshin gave Aeifa the creeps.
All day, they struggled up the long defile to the rocky mountain tops. If only they could run, the trip would be long over. Maybe that’s why Roshin resented leading them so much. He’d much prefer to fly. At the top, the trees grew thin and straggly. Rough rock took the place of soft loam underfoot, and the group had to scale steep cliffs to reach the top before dark.
The sun blazed on the horizon, and the air turned cool when they finally stepped out on a wide rock with nothing around it but open space. Dark forest stretched out behind them, all the way to Avitras territory. Animal calls echoed through the canopy, but no smoke rose from the trees where the Avitras village nestled in the branches. The cliffs fell away behind them. A waterfall crashed against rocks far below and ran away south. To the west, wide flat plains opened out to another mountain range in the distance.
Roshin pointed toward the far mountains. “That’s Ursidrean territory there.”
Taig sighed. “Great. Let’s go.”
Roshin shook his head. “You can make it there on your own now. I’m going back.”
Taig’s head whipped around. “Piwaka said you would take us to the capital city.”
Roshin pointed again. “You can find it yourselves. It’s right there.”
A tiny glimmer of light burned against the mountain side so far away they could hardly see it. Taig shifted from one foot to the other. “We can see it from here, but we wouldn’t be able to see it trekking through those mountains.”
“That’s your problem.” Roshin turned away. “I’ve shown you were it is. Now you’re on your own.”
Taig tried again. “But Piwaka said....”
Roshin waved his hand. He was already halfway back down the rock. “Forget what Piwaka said. You can take care of yourselves. I’m going back, and I hope I never see your faces again.”
The group stared at him. He would drop down over the edge of the cliff in a minute and vanish out of their lives. At the last second, Ari rushed forward and seized Roshin by the arm. “Hey! Don’t you walk away from us.”
Roshin whirled around and yanked his arm out of Ari’s grasp. “Get away from me!”
Ari sprang clear and landed with his legs flexed. “Piwaka said you would lead us to the city, and that’s what you’re going to do. He said you would answer to him if you didn’t.”
Roshin gnashed his teeth. “How will he find out? You won’t go back to tell him, will you? By the time I get back to the village, you’ll be long gone.”
“He’s Alpha of your faction,” Ari pointed out. “You have to do what he says.”
“Do you think I care what Piwaka says?” Roshin shot back. “He’s an old fool. If he wants to do you favors, he can do them himself.”
Tara spoke up from behind Ari. “We can’t find the city ourselves. That’s the reason we came to ask you for help in the first place. We aren’t your enemies, Roshin. Our people are working toward peace for the first time in centuries. Doesn’t that count for anything?”
Roshin balled his hands into fists. “The Avitras will never make peace with anyone. Piwaka is an old man, and he isn’t even our real Alpha. My father is the real Alpha of the faction, and when Piwaka dies, I’ll take over. Then you can kiss your peace agreement good-bye.”
“How could you throw away the hopes and dreams of so many people?” Tara asked.
Roshin only laughed. He started walking away again. “Have a nice life. I hope you make it.”
Heavy dread fell over the group. Their last glimmer of hope vanished with Roshin down that cliff. Nothing stood between them and the Outliers anymore, and they still had no idea how to find the city. No other peak stood between them and the far mountains. They would never get another bearing on their destination.
All at once, Ari dashed forward. He grabbed Roshin’s arm and spun him around. “You’re not walking away from us.”
Roshin answered with a bellow. He flung Ari clear of him, and the young Lycaon fell hard on his back against the rock. Aeifa cried out, but Taman held her back. Ari leapt to his feet and launched himself at Roshin with all his might. Roshin crouched in anticipation, but Ari grabbed him and held on. Roshin couldn’t fling him away
again, and the two tumbled to the ground. They grappled and rolled, over and over on the rock, back and forth.
Roshin bellowed in rage, but Ari bared his sharp fangs and growled in his face in deadly earnest. He grabbed Roshin by the throat, but the Avitras knocked his hand free. Roshin made a grab for Ari’s face, but Ari ducked away and drove in under his arm. He slammed his forehead into Roshin’s face and stunned him. Roshin collapsed against the rock and Ari jumped on him.
Roshin only lost his focus for a moment. Ari raised his fist to smash Roshin in the face, but Roshin recovered and kicked Ari’s legs out from under him. Ari crashed down on top of him, and the two wrestled across the rock the other way.
Roshin was stronger and heavier than Ari, but Ari had more experience fighting. He used every scrap of muscle to knock Roshin off balance, and whenever Roshin showed any weakness, Ari exploited it to throw him onto the defensive. Roshin tried again to grab Ari’s neck. Ari caught him by the wrist and pinned his arm to the ground. In a flash, he jammed his knee against Roshin’s wrist and bludgeoned his face with his fists.
Roshin huddled under the rain of blows. He couldn’t free his wrist, and he wouldn’t let go of Ari with his other hand. He couldn’t see beyond Ari’s fists to break free. Blood flowed from his nose and mouth, and Aeifa started to relax. Ari had won.
Roshin tried the same trick of kicking him off, and Ari’s knee slipped off his wrist. His arm sailed up and dealt Ari a blow on the side of the head. In a moment, they were tumbling together along the ridge until Roshin finally succeeded in throwing Ari clear with a jerk of his legs. Ari slammed down against the rock with a grunt, and Roshin gained his feet.
His face twisted in a horrible mask of blood and saliva. “None of you will ever enter Avitras territory again. If I see you again, I’ll kill you.” He pointed at Ari. “You’ve been warned.”
Ari climbed to his feet. He panted for breath through bared teeth, and sweat ran down his neck. Roshin’s strength tired him out. He couldn’t fight anymore. Aeifa let out a shaky breath. It was over. At least now they could go on their way alone in the hope of finding Harbeiz. Roshin would leave and never bother them again.
Roshin turned his back on Ari. Taig turned the other way, toward Ursidrean territory. “Let’s go. We have to make camp before nightfall.”
At the last second, before anyone could react, Ari set his jaw and sprang forward. Aeifa saw him first and called out, “Ari, no!”
But it was too late. He rocketed across the gap and hit Roshin with his full weight. Roshin must have seen something in Ari’s eyes. The young Lycaon wasn’t ready to give up. Roshin expected Ari to attack again. Ari’s arms slapped around Roshin’s chest, but Roshin didn’t lose his footing. He caught Ari around the shoulders and threw him down.
But there was nothing under Roshin’s feet to throw Ari to. The rock fell away in a sheer drop all the way down to the invisible waterfall, and Ari flew over the side with nothing to catch him. Aeifa darted forward with her hand outstretched. “Ari!”
Ari hung suspended in mid-air for a long moment. His eyes swept the horizon in surprise. Then he plummeted out of sight. Nothing broke his fall all the way down. Only after another endless moment, his voice echoed up from the rock walls and vanished into the noise of water falling far below.
Chapter 4
Taig’s footsteps broke the silence. One by one, they followed him down the other side of the Divide, into Ursidrean territory. Tara and Allen couldn’t hold hands anymore, walking single file. Aeifa stumbled blindly down the path with Taman behind her. Taig and Reina, followed by Tara and Allen, put some distance between themselves and Aeifa, but she couldn’t concentrate enough to keep up.
Ari was gone. Aeifa didn’t care anymore what happened to her. Her world caved in and left her dead already. If she got separated from Taig and Tara, she would sit down in the path and wait to starve to death. What was the point of living? Her parents and all her friends were gone, and now her brother, too. Not even Taig and Tara remained to her. Tara cared more for Allen than her Lycaon relatives. Aeifa shut her eyes and staggered into trees and branches. They whipped and scratched her face, but she didn’t care.
The sun set, and the stars came out. The aurora brightened overhead, which made traveling easier. The forest crowded around them with shadows, but no one stopped. No one mentioned making camp. Ari always told them when to make camp, and he usually did most of the work himself.
Taig continued to lead the way until he came to a clearing next to a stream. He stopped to cup the water into his hands. Tara squatted next to him. “We should stop here.”
Taig looked at her, and she jerked her head backwards toward Aeifa. Aeifa paced around the clearing, never stopping. Taman hovered behind her but made no move to intervene. Taig nodded. “I better get the fire going.”
Allen put out his hand. “I’ll do that. You rest.”
Allen moved away into the trees before Taig could argue,. He came back with a bundle of sticks and set to work. In a few minutes, a blaze lighted the clearing, but it couldn’t cheer their hearts. Allen and Tara sat hand in hand and stared into the flames without a word. Reina sat next to Taig, but they made no move toward each other. The flames flickered on their inert faces. No one said a word.
Aeifa couldn’t stop the rising tide of nervous energy welling up inside her. How could they sit there like that, unmoving? How could they just lie down and accept Ari’s death without a whimper? Taig and Tara didn’t shed a single tear over their cousin’s murder. Aeifa could have killed them both for that.
She made circle after circle around the fire. Her knuckles ached from wringing them together. Her knees and legs burned with tension and fatigue, but she couldn’t sit down. She could never rest again. This world chewed her up and spat her out. She wished she was dead so she could finally rest.
After perhaps an hour of silent sitting, Reina got up. She waited until Aeifa made another circuit of the clearing. Then she stepped into Aeifa’s path and stopped her. “Come sit down, Aeifa. You’re tired.”
Aeifa shook her off with a grunt and kept walking. She walked right past Reina on her next circuit without giving the Felsite girl so much as a passing glance. Reina’s eyes sought out her friends and found Tara watching her. Tara got up and came to Reina’s side. When Aeifa came around again, Tara stopped her. “Sit down, Aeifa. We’re all upset about Ari. Come on. Sit down and rest. You won’t be any good tomorrow if you don’t rest tonight.”
Aeifa knocked Tara’s hands away. “Leave me alone. I don’t need rest.”
Tara glanced at Reina. Then she looked at Taman, and Taman nodded. He came up behind Aeifa and took hold of her shoulders. He turned her around to face him. She tried to struggled free from his grasp, but he wouldn’t let her go. The harder she fought, the tighter he held her.
“Get away from me,” she fumed. “None of you cares about Ari falling off that cliff. Do you think you can know what I feel? That Avitras killed him. He’s dead, and none of you cares. Get your hands off me. I’ll smash you to pieces. Leave me alone. I don’t need you.”
Taman didn’t answer. He only held her still so she couldn’t get away. She flailed her arms around and spat in his face, but he didn’t budge.
“If you cared at all about me or Ari,” Aeifa ranted, “you wouldn’t be sitting there like so many blocks of meat. You would do something.”
“There’s nothing to do,” Tara murmured. “That’s what’s so hard about it. He’s gone, and there’s nothing we can do.”
Aeifa exploded. “Do you think I don’t know he’s gone? Do you think I need you to tell me that? Do you think I didn’t see Roshin throw him over that cliff? What’s wrong with you? How can you just sit there, not feeling anything? He was your cousin, and he was my twin brother, and now he’s gone. He’s gone with all the rest of them, and we’ll never see any of them again.”
“We do feel.” Tara’s voice cracked. “We feel the same thing you do.”
“You couldn’t feel the same thing I do,” Aeifa screamed. “You don’t know what it means to lose your only family.”
“I understand,” Tara replied. “I almost lost Taig.”
“We are your family, Aeifa,” Taig added. “We’re the only family you have left, and you are the only family we have left. We have to stick together.”
Aeifa made another mammoth effort to break free of Taman’s hands, to no avail. “Mother and Father are gone, and Grandmother, and Turk and Chris and the little cousins are all gone. Now Ari’s gone, and you’re gone, too. Your bodies are still sitting there, but you’re gone already. Pretty soon, your bodies will be gone, too, and then I’ll be alone. I’ll have nothing.”
Tara blinked back tears. “We aren’t gone, Aeifa. We’re right here, and we need you now more than ever. You’re all we’ve got left. Don’t throw that away.”
Allen put his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest. Aeifa shook her head. She shook Taig and Tara’s words out of her mind. She couldn’t listen, and she couldn’t stand still a moment longer. She had to break away from Taman and keep walking or she would fly into a million pieces.
She tried to turn away, but Taman turned her back to face him. His hands closed around her arms and pulled her close to him. He blocked her path, the circle path that kept her together in one piece. She had to break away.
She pounded his chest with her fists. “Let go of me! Let me go!”
He didn’t let her go.
Once she got started beating him, the unstoppable energy inside her burst forth. She couldn’t stop beating him with every ounce of her strength. “I don’t need you! You’re nothing. Do you hear me? You don’t mean a thing to me. I don’t need you pawing at me. Get away from me. Go home to your mother. None of us needs you. Let me go!”
The New Angondra Complete Series Page 10
